E 440 
.5 

.T24 
Copy 1 



r 11 1 : r M () X . 



H- ' 



^ 
^ 



A SERMON, 



DKMVKHKl) 



111 ^r;irf Slnirrli, M(k Icrh, 

ON THE DAY OF THE XATIOXAL FAST. 
January 4. 1361. 



THOMAS HOTTSl*: TAYLOll, D. D. 



PUBLISHED BV REQUEST. 




NEW YOIJK : 

B A K E 11 ct (! () 1» W 1 N . P R I N T E R S , 

iMiiNTiNfMiorsE sqi:are, oi'p. city ll.M.l,. 

18G1. 




V 



thp: union. 



A SERMON, 



DELIVERKD 



ox THE DAY OF THE Nx^TlONAL FAST, 

January 4, 1861. 



THOMAS HOUSE TAYLOR, D. D. 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 




NEW YORK: 
BAKER <fe GODWIN, PRINTERS. 

PRINTI-NG-HOLSE SQUARE, OPPOSITE CITY H.\LL. 

1861. 



Mo 



1 



Ittb lil.orh, |;uiuar)j T, 1361. 

Rev. THo^f as House Taylor, D. D. 

Ri-i'eroid and Dear f>i.f, — Having this morning, as members of the 
conn-rogation of Grace Church, heard, with the deepest interest, the ser- 
mon delivered Ity you in tliat ( 'liureli, — and iK'lievino- lliat an extensive 
dissemination, at this time, of a discourse so sound in its principles, so 
just in its views, so triu' in its sentiment, and so patriotic in its spirit, 
cannot fail 1o do good, — we earnestly request that you will he pleased 1o 
fnrnish us with a copy of j'our sermon for publication, — 

And reiuain, as always. Reverend and Dear Sir, with the highest re- 
spect and esteem, your friends and obedient servants, 

L. BRADISH, 

ROBERT RAY, GEO. W. McCOLLOM, 

JAMES MONROE, BENJ. H. FIELD, 

JOHN VAN BUREN. A. NORRIE, 

D. B. FEARING, CHARLES SUYDAM, 

P. LORILLARD, WM. DOUGLAS, 

H. VAN RENSSELAER, C R. GREEN, 

B. AYMAR, JOHN DAVID WOLFE, 

H. D. ALDRICH, GEORGE BARCLAY, 

P. V. HOFFMAN, CH. AUG. DAVIS, 

HENRY DELAFIELD, E. PRIME. 



804 Broadway, New York, | 
Jmntarii 5, ISC.l. S 

Gentlemen, — 

If you suppose that the sei-mon whicli you have so kindly requested 
for publication cau be of any sort of use, in this crisis of our country's 
history, I shall have much pleasure. in placing it at your disposal. 

With every sentiment of respect and regard, I am, gentlemen, most 

truly your friend and pastor, 

THOMAS HOUSE TAYLOR. 

To Messrs. Bradisu, Ray, Monroe, and others. 



SEEM ON. 



"Watchman, what of the niglit ?" — Isaiah, xxi. 11. 

In the Scriptures tlie term Watchman is con- 
stantly applied to the ministers of God. Tliey are 
regarded as being set apart to watch over the safety 
of His people, to guard them from threatening dan- 
gers, and to lift up the voice of Avarning against 
their peculiar sources of temptation or causes of 
calamit}^ In keeping up the figure of speech in 
which the Prophet is called a watchman, 'Hhe 
night" is used to denote the particular period of 
time in which he is exercising his office. And the 
people of Mount Sier are represented as anxiously 
inquiring of the Prophet what news he had for 
them from God ^ wdiat meaning he could read for 
them in the portentous signs of the times i 

My brethren, assembled, as ^ve are, at the invi- 
tation of the Powers that be, to humble ourselves 
with prayer and fosting before the God of nations, 
on account of the threatening aspect of the times, — 
on account of passing events which unfold them- 



6 



selves so ominously to tlie unity, peace, and liappi= 
ness of our country, — I can well fancy that I liear 
you appealing to me, as I stand a servant of the 
Most High God, in his consecrated temple, and he- 
fore his holy altar, for the words of warning, of 
comfort, and of instruction I may have to deliver to 
you. I can well fancy that I hear j^ou exclaiming, 
in tones of anxiety, " Watchman, what of the night ? 
Watchman, what of the night ? " 

It is impossible to suppose that such an assem- 
blage of Christian peoj^le as are now 1)efore me, can 
be indiiferent to the extraordinary condition of 
things amid which we are called to act; and no 
thoughtful mind can fail to perceive that at no pe- 
riod within the history of our race has the condition 
of the whole world been so extraordinary, so sol- 
emn, so ominous. At such a time it is impossible 
for any of us to separate ourselves from the feelings 
which are proper for the Christian, the ])atriot, and 
the man ! 

It is always wrong for the minister of Christ to 
mix himself up with the l)itter strife of political 
parties. It is wrong in him to fan the flames of 
discord ; to stir up strife and to inflame the minds 
of his hearers Avith rancorous feelings ; to array his 
fello^v-countrymen against each other in Idood}' 
war, and thus to become an instrument for bringino; 



desolation aiid iiiiseiy ovt-r ten tliousaiid lioiiics. 
Ah! it Avould 1)C' Letter for sucli men lia<I tliey 
never 1)een l>()rn. But t<> love his roiuitry, to sym- 
pathize most dee])l\ in its fortunes, to watcli witli 
sleepless vigilanee over its avenues of i)rosperity 
and its eauses of Avoe, and to strive to animate your 
hearts Avith lofty patriotism, and to fill them Avith 
something of his own spirit of love, unity, and 
peace, can never be inconsistent Avith either his posi- 
tion or his duties as a religious teacher. 

My })rethren, we are here upon a solemn tast-day, 
in the house of prayer, to ackno^vledge our sins be- 
fore God, and to implore his mercy for our country-. 
Every mind is excited, every heart is alarmed, and 
gloomy forebodings of calamity till every eye with 
the tears of agon}'. And for ^vhy is all this^ Our 
country was never more blessed with all the abound- 
ing elements of prosperity ; our seasons ^vere never 
more healthful ; our lands were never more fruitful ; 
our agricultural, commercial, and financial interests 
were never before more admirably balanced, and 
every ^vay calculated to ])rove exuberant fountains 
of hapi^iness. But suddenly a black cloud has 
arisen in the South, and the muttering thunder that 
comes from it speaks to us of political discontents 
so deep and serious as to lead to all the horrors of 
disunion ! My brethren, I ha\e already said, from 



8 



this place, that if there be any causes of complaint, 
well-founded and reasonable, then I am perfectly 
sure that ev^ery right-minded and kindly-disposed 
person, of evei'y shade of l>arty, will be ready and 
willing to correct the evil in the way most accept- 
able to our com])laining countrymen. But, at the 
same time, I must say that it is but fair and light 
that our dissatisfied friends should tell us clearly 
and explicitly what they Avould have us to do. 
What new guarantees do they require 'i what laws 
can be passed, and what laws can be repealed, to 
afford them the most unyielding satisfaction and 
security for all time to come 'i But unless they will 
do this, — unless they will meet our efi^orts to serve 
them in a reciprocal sj^irit of conciliation and kind- 
ness, — then I cannot see but our best feelings and 
our best efforts will be utterly useless ! If our 
southern friends, goaded and irritated as they have 
been, shall rush from us in the frenzy of madness, 
and, listening to no voice of friendship, shall pro- 
ceed recklessly in their work of disunion and ruin, 
then it becomes us to arrest them in their progress 
by the calm, and dignified, and firm, and gentle re- 
monstrance, that too many and too mighty interests 
are involved in such a proceeding to allow it to go 
on without such opposing checks as the rest of us 
may be able to throw in ! I find it diflicult to 



(M)iU'('iv(' liow any intelligent and lli(»UL;'litl"nl man, 
\vli('n \w takes into \ iew all the miglity interests of 
this vast country, complicated as tliey are, and inter- 
woven witli each other as tliey necessarily must ))e, 
can tor one moment suppose tliat tliese overwlielm- 
iug millions of people are always to sit ^vith folded 
arms and in listless meekness while all their hiirh 
interests are sacrificed ; wliih; tinancial confidence, 
Avliich is the life-ldood of trade, is utterly destroyed ; 
while the hum of industry, on the mart and in the 
workshop, is suspended, and private bankruptcies 
are carrvini>; crushino; wretchedness into nmuberless 
homes; yea, ^vhile the ])ublic credit is seriously 
impaired, the majesty of the government is insulted, 
its miglity powers are paralyzed while its property 
is seized, and the flag of this great nation's un- 
1 )0unded pride is trampled in the dust ! 

My brethren, these things ought never so to 
have l:)een, and they cannot continue as they are 
very long. I say it calmly and solemnly, and after 
the most }>ainful delilx-ration, and 1 l)elie\e that I 
speak the sentiments of every patriot that hears me 
when I say that it is not within the 1)ounds of pos- 
sibility that this state of things should continue 
very long. 1 would do nothing in unkindness; I 
would do nothing in harshness; I would extend 
forbearance and brotherly love to their utmost lim- 



10 



its ; but yet the time cannot l3e very distant wlien 
the vast masses of our people, rising in their over- 
^vhelming might, shall speak in a voice which shall 
everywhere be heard and can nowhei'e be mistaken ; 
and at the sound of it the workers of mischief of 
every sort and kind, in the 2)nlpit and in the con- 
claves of political schemers — official agents of every 
grade and every shade of [)art}', the corrupt and 
the imbecile alike — shall all of them disappear to- 
gether fi'om their places of trust, and the lav) of 
rigJit shall be seen advancing, in its terrible majesty, 
to achninister impartial justice and to command 
universal quietness and peace. 

My brethren, I speak as an American citizen,'" 
and I speak as a native of South Carolina ; I speak 
as one Avho understands well her condition and her 
Avrono-8 — understandino' them as no strano^er can 
by any possibility understand tliem ; I speak, there- 
fore, as one ^\\\o lias a light to speak, and when I 
speak words of censure they are spoken far more in 
sorrow than in anger. I say that South Cai'olina 
has wrongs to complain of; she has injuries to )>e 
I'edi'essed. Demao;oo:ues have assailed her with the 
ribaldry of the hustings in the sanctity of the Sen- 
ate. She has been irritated and goaded to madness 
b}' the libels that ha^'e l)een poured forth, for years, 

* See note A. 



iH")Oii the most saci-cd ;iii(l most dt'licjitc ol" Ik r <lo- 
mestic institutions, hy tlic mountebanks of llic |»ul- 
pit, A\ lio in llu'ir pcstit'ei'ous career arc animated 1>v 
the most iiziioMc of all the forms in wliidi worldly 
ambition can display itself, the and)itioii tni- scciir- 
inL;- n<)torict\' by an association with the demons in 
pandering to the false j)reju<lices and malignant pas- 
sions of vulgar minds. And is it to Ik- wondered 
at, if the sons of* C'ai'olina Iw.nc sometimes forgot- 
ten what was due to themselves, and the true dig- 
nity of tlieir Stat(\ and descended to private retalia- 
tion and hruta! \ iolence t The mistakes, and follies, 
and crimes ot' indix idual men are not to he charged 
u{)on the countries to w liich they 1)elong. We are 
now to deal Avith South Carolina as a State, and as 
one of tliese United States; and it is as such that I 
repeat, she has cause of complaint not only against 
individual men in the States of the North, l)ut 
against juany of those States in their executive, leg- 
islative, and judicial capacities. But then the griev- 
ances of South Carolina are precisel) the same 
grievances as are complained of by her sister States 
of tlie South — nothing more, nothing less. AN'hy, 
then, xve have a right to ask, has she assumed this 
sad pre-eminence in rash precipitancy^ Why has 
she rushed, without conference and without sujtjxtrt, 
into all the danjjers and nn'schief of revolntion, un- 



12 



prepared for, and Avliicli can never terminate in good 
to anybody ? Wlio does not feel tliat this most 
unwise haste has alienated the sympathy and weak- 
ened the hands of every friend of the Sontli Avho 
clings to our Union as the only ark of strength and 
of safety for them and for us i Within the Union, 
all evils may he remedied and grievances redressed ; 
hut Avithout the pale of our common fold of safety 
— wdthout the reach of the chaste and cheering ra- 
diance that falls from our clustering Stars of Grlory, 
there is no room for help — there is no deliverance 
to l)e found. There is no injury, nor insult, nor 
vexatious meddling w^ith her most ])rivate and pre- 
cious interests, under which she no^v ^vrithes and 
frets, that will not l^e continued Avith the most al)- 
solute imj^unity, and with increased and most viru- 
lent bitterness ! And, in addition to all that, every 
imagination will at once conjure up the uncounted 
horrors of every other kind which the strong and 
the wicked of the earth ai'e ever ready to bring 
upon the unprotected and the weak. 

I have just said that this extraordinary IJevohi- 
tion, Avdiich, as it seems to us, has l)een so inconsid- 
erately entered upon l)y our sister State, can bring 
no good to any (me. But I nuist 1 )eg to amend that 
saying l)y throwing out the suggestion that ])er- 
haps the contemplation of the false position in 



13 



wliicli IIk'v ;nv oMi^cd (<> scr tliat Soutli Cai'oliiin 
lias jJacecl herself, willi all of its attendant train cf 
enibarrassments, may prove sufficient to dctci- otlici- 
ajid more tliouglitfiil States from liuir\ ini;- Mindly 
on to the same fatal exti'emity of foll\- and ruin."' 

My hretliren, I (h) not believe that there is i^^oing 
to ])e any dismend)ernu'Jit of this powerful, this glo- 
rious country of ours — glorious in all the memories 
of the past, and thi'ice glorious in our entrancing 
])]"ospects for the future ! 

Tlie very thought of it seems to diifusc an odoi- 
of treason around us. Not that I \\()uld lend the 
h'ast sanction to any teachiuc; that ^vouhl 2:0 to 
i-evive the effete doctrine of " passive obedience" to 
governmentf as an institution of God — not that I 
would agree to any ^vholesale denunciation of that 
immortal philosoj)lK-r, John Locke, fi'om Avhose a\ rit- 
ings, as from a treasure-house of wisdom, tlie found- 
ers of our Eejnil)lic dre^N' all their maxims of 
goverimient— but because I believe that, linked and 
l)ound together as we are, the thing is an im])os- 
si1>ility. As A\('ll jiiight Ave lio])e to tear asunder 
the several ])arts that go to make uj) that mar\ cl- 
ous machine, the human body, and then ex])ect 
that each part, oi- any one of the i)arts, should con- 
tinue to work on in usefulness an<l comfoit. It is 

* Soo ^'ote B. f See Xotc ('. 



14 



not only inipos^il^le, but it is entirely unnecessary, 
even if it were possil )le — I say tliat it is unnecessary 
and undesiral)le, because there are no evils ex- 
jierienced A\liicli cannot l»e far l)etter corrected 
within tlie Union than out of it. There are no 
biu'dens of governnieiit tliat ^Nould not be increased 
an hundred fold by separation ; and there are un- 
numbered l>lessings which it secures to us, (juiet 
and unseen, perhaps, l)ut yet foi' tlie loss of Avliich 
nothing on this eartli could compensate us. And 
as soon as time shall operate ^\\i]\ its soothing 
influences, and our southern friends sliall recover a 
little from the Irenzy of excitement, iido Avhicli 
scheming ])oliticians liave thro^vu them, they are 
too intelligent by far not to perceive and luiderstand 
all of this. 

The ])resent excited condition of the public 
mind at the South is to be attriVmted to two causes. 
The first is the mistake of supposing that the insane 
i-avings of certain fanatical preachers of aT)olition- 
ism, in Avhicli the gibl)erish of falsehood is dressed 
uj) in tlie language of Holy A¥rit — the smart say- 
ings of others, l)ordering ahvays u})on bhisphemy, 
in Avhich lil)els and denunciations are clothed, and 
mixed with coarse anecdotes and vulgar ribaldry — 
are fair exj^ositions of the feelings of northern 
people for tlieir countrymen of the South. I need 



15 



iu)t say to you liow ciitircK iiiit'ouiKlcd is ;iii\ 
supposition like that. I siiirly need ii(»t, jiroNc to 
you lio\\' slight — how wvy sliglit — is tlie measure of 
intlucncc cxerti^d l»y suc'li tcadicrs as those, beyond 
the narrow s])her(' of their own immediate fol- 
lowers. But yet the press, in giving j)ul»lieity to 
these juml)les of mendacity and malignity, have 
j)rodiiced tlu' most wide-spread miseliiefs to our 
eountr}'. And so, too, the unscrupulous leaders of 
l)olitical parties have too often given uttei-ance to 
the cant of abolitionism, in order to secure their 
temporary and selfish ends, — and thus the whole 
body of voters, ^v\\o for far different purposes ha\e 
been associated with these demagogues, are set 
down as all of them together, having abolition aims 
and objects. Nothing can be more false than that, 
and yet nothing has contributed moi-e to alienate 
(me section of our country from the other, and to 
break asunder the ties of love and mutual interest 
which ought to bind us inseparably together! No, 
no, my friends, J will nevei- allow it to be said that 
the great body of the intelligent voters of the Noith 
have any sort of hostility or hatred for the South, 
or the least wish to interfere with tiieir jx'culiar 
institutions; and I protest, in the luune of tiiith 
and justice, against their being associated and con- 
founded with the few noisv and wavward disturbers 



IG 



of tlie piiblic tranfiuility, who we know to he of a 
contrary mind. 

In this connection, permit me to allude to the 
spectacle which our fellow-citizens of the free States 
have exhibited in their calm and universal sul amis- 
sion to the slow movements of authority, in these 
dark days, while all their hopes have been blasted, 
their interests sacrificed, and their industry sus- 
pended, by the shocks which confidence has received 
from political disturbances. They might naturally 
have l^een supposed to be enraged against the 
authors of their miseries, and, without hope from 
either their rulers or law-makers, they would })e 
ready to move in hostile array against somebody. 
But there has l)een nothing like it ; and I do say 
that the universal acquiescence of our people in the 
orderings of the Government, although so very con- 
trary to the universal and deep conviction of what 
would be wisest and best, presents us with a subject 
for thought of the sublimest import. It is that 
Avhich could not have been witnessed in any other 
country on earth ; and, with such a people, ^ve have 
nothing to fear for the Union, or the glory of its 
flag. Leaving the negro, and all the vexations con- 
nected w^ith him, to them Avhose province it is to 
take care of him, the men of the North and the 
East, with the American Eao-le ]iearinf>: the Stars 

7 O c 



17 



and Stripes in liis iK'.-ik, as tlicii- cnsion <.t' sii-ciiutli, 
will H\ tlicii' cvi's upon tlic West, and Ix-foic tlicii- 
advancing fo(>tste])s tlic Ideak |>rairi(\ tlic Ljh'onix' 
forest, an<l flic wonderino" savaoe evervw liei-e sjive 
place to tlic arts and comforts of civilized man — 
takiiiu' aloHi;' witli tliem, w lierever tlie\ u'o, the 
spellinu-l)ook, the HiMe, the raili'oad and the tele- 
i>Ta])h — those vast regions wliere natui'e lias slum- 
Itered foi* ages in solitary grandeur will soon l>e 
resounding with songs of grateful hearts, lifted up 
in ]»rayers and ])raises to (rod, and in expressions of 
good A\ill to man. And \vhen those l»oundless 
fields of j)lenty and joy, extending from one sea to 
the other, shall all l>e filled with Christian people, 
and all reposing in safety under the Constellation of 
Stars that the Eagle bears before his uplifted head, 
■what nation of the globe Avill compare Avith us in 
power, or in all the essential elements of national 
glory and greatness I 

But the second cause of restless uneasiness to our 
countrymen of the South is to be seen in the fruit 
of that false and pestilent teaching Avhich \\ oidd lead 
them to believe fl/e Union of flu^ Sfatrs is the reason 
why South Carolina has not advanced in pros])erity 
and power as raj)idly as New^ York. Tlie logic, as 
T found it in a j^aper recently sul)mitted for my 
reading, amounts to this : "■ When the Ccmstitution 



18 



'' of the United States was adopted, the commerce 
" and shipping of Cliarleston was greater than that 
" of NeAV York." '' Consequently, if that Constitu- 
" tion liad never l>eeii adopted, Charleston ^vould 
" have groAvn aixl flourished as much as New York! 
" Break u}) our union Avitli the North — ^let Charles- 
" ton resume her natural commerce, importing 
'' directly from tluMvltole world such conmiodities as 
" they ])ro(luce and w<' need — and Avhat a might}- 
" change would come over tlie prospects of Cliarles- 
" ton ! Our colonial and triluitary conunerce with 
" the North \vould cease, and a mighty Wtv com- 
" nierce Avith the Avliole Avorld Axould rise in its 
" stead. Capital Avould floAV into a place where it 
" could be used Avith sucli a<lAantage — the Koths- 
" childs and the Barings Avould soon he thei-e — 
" and thus Charleston heconie tlie envy of all the 
" earth." I tind it difficult to persua(h' niA self that 
any nuui capable of ^^-l•iting the English language 
so Avell can, T)y any possil)ilit>-, he made to believe 
his own teaching. T find it still more difficult to 
conceive hoAv such a farrago of bald nonsense could 
ever hav(^ foiuid a lodgiiig-idace amongst so intelli- 
gent a people as our friends of South Carolina. And 
yet it is perfectly certain that a persuasion of the 
truth of this teaching, and the brilliant hopes Avhich 
have thus been awakened, are at the l)ottom of all 



10 

tlie tui'l»ult'iit and suicidal |(i(iccc( lilies in t hat uallaiit 
))Ut niisi;iiidt'<l State I Can any man Icll inc how and 
at wliat time tlie intlucnce oi' tlie uvncial ( iovcrnnicnt 
has heeii exerted in 1av<»r <»!' New Vovk and to thi- 
injury of Charleston ( Can tiny man tell me iiow a 
tariff of duties eoidd, l)y any possibility, ]»e tranied, 
wliieli would o])eraie against Charleston, and would 
not at the same time operate against NeAv ^^)rk '^ 
Can any man <leny that the taritf, as we now haxc 
it, was framed l>y South Carolina herself, and voted 
toi- unanimously hy hei- representatives in Con- 
gress^ Can it l)y any ])ossibility l>e true that the 
most simple of all truths should be hidden from the 
people of South Carolina, and l)e plain and written 
in capitals for the I'eading of every man in the 
world besides, that the only reason why Charleston 
does not advance in commerce and po})idation in 
jjroportion to New York is because she has no 
market for her imported goods ^ Let us only i-efer 
to a map of the United States, and when you trace 
the almost incredible range of country sj reading 
out in every direction, with it>; dense and e^•er- 
increasing population, its rich manufactories, and 
countless products of every kind, all of Avhicli is 
poured into Ne^v ^'ork, and affords a market in 
return for the go<»ds that are sent to Kew York to 
be sold — when you trace the marvelous network of 



1^0 



internal improvements, and tliat long chain of inter- 
national seas, almost as wide an expanse of water 
as tlie Atlantic itself, and all of tliem affording the 
most wonderful facilities for an interchange of com- 
modities — can any citizen of South Carolina fail to 
see that Charleston has not, and in the nature of 
things never can have, anything to compare with 
it ? And, consequently, by no possibility can she 
ever l)econie the great commercial emporium that 
Ne^v York now is, and nuist continue to be, with 
j^erpetuall}^ increasing accessions of prosperity and 
wealth. M}^ friends, it is a sad and painful suliject 
of thou2:ht, tliat the uuderstandino- of mankind 
should 1)e so triiled with, and that, under a hallu- 
cination so gross and palpable to all eyes Init their 
own, they should rush to ruin, and su])i)ose that 
they are only led by the ])urest tires of patriotism. 
But I must be done. Let me only repeat that, as 
New-Yorkers, we have notliing to fear for ourselves. 
We can afford to be magnanimous and forl)earing to 
the last degree. The clieck ^^dlich the industr}^ of our 
people has received will be temporar}'. There has 
been no sufficient cause for it in anything done Ijy us 
or operating directly ui)on ourseh'es, and it is to be 
accounted for entirely by a reference to that ex- 
treme and morbid sensitiveness Avhich financial con- 
fidence ever evinces to ])olitical disturbances. Upon 



the lii'st whispei' of alarm iVoiii tlir«'at('ii<'(l iioiiMc^ 
in (xoveruiueiit, coiifidciicc hides liiiiisclf in tiiiiitl 
(lisiiia\, and when iiiosl wanted can now liei'e In- 
found. I Avill conclude 1>\ entreating you to clicr- 
isli the all-iinpoi'tant truth ^vith which 1 lia\'e 
ah-eady sought to impress you — that, if not wanting 
to ourselves and to our (xod, nothing from without 
can by any means liurt us very long. Come A\hat 
\vi\], or come what may to otlier States, this City of 
New York must of necessity continue to he the 
center of capital an<l connnerce to this Western 
Continent. Blessed ^is ^^■e are M'ith a most unii- 
valed geographical position, commerce has hei-e 
AVorn hei" hroad and deep channels, and capital has 
ilowecl in upon the waves of commerce, and it is as 
impossible to change them as would he the attempt 
to check or change the downward flow of the A\'ater 
in the father of rivers. Our sister cities of the South 
may become })ros])erous and ])owerful; hut just in 
proportion as they advance in powei', just in tlie same 
l^'oportion Avill they contribute to swell the intlux 
of exchanges towards this great center of our c(»ni- 
merce, this vast reservoir of wealth. They are as 
sure to flow this way as the Gulf Stream flows this 
w^ay. These things, my friends, can never be con- 
trolled by any sectional legislation, because they are 



90 



governed l>y ];n\'s wliicli are as certain and as fixed 
as tliose wliicli secure the liarmony of tlie spheres." 
C'onie, then, my beloved brethren, let us mourn 
over our iniquities and ingratitude, ^vhich render 
us so unworthy of these many and great l)lessings. 
Let us alwa>'s remember that we liave nothing- to 
dread so mucli as wickedness in oiir peoj^le. But 
our (rod is o-ood ! He is infinite in mere v. He 
was the (lod of our fathers, and A\'e will trust in 
him with a confidence that ne^'er falters. Let us 
always look upon those who difter from us Avitli 
kindness and charity. Let us say to them, Avith 
hearts overfloAving with tenderness, Sirs, we are 
brethren; jour country is oiu* country, our j^eople 
are youi' ])eo])]e, and }'our peoj)le are our peo]de, 
and never may it 1)e otherwise! Never may our 
prayers ascend from the altars of our hearts for you 
or for ourselves, save it l)e as for friends and fellow- 
citizens, and all of us together as fellow-candidates 
for the immoi'tality of the skies. 

* See Xote D, 



IsrOTES. 



fA.] 

The State of South Carolina, iVoni and after tlie adoption of 
the Constitution of the United States, lias had no more power to 
eonfer citizenship than iicr tnwns nf ('<nisa\\ liatrhic and \\>r>>- 
taligo. It is thus that I am a native of South Carolina, a i-csidcnt 
of New York, and a ( Vii/.kn of these I'nited States of Anieriea. — 
and it is to that nation only that my allegiance is due. Ilow 
serious, then, is the mistake of those many gallant uttieers from 
the arm\- and iiav\ ol" our country, who had sworn fidelity to 
the Constitution of the Lnited States under every possible cir- 
eumstance of solemnity, and whose noble energies ha<l been so 
lonir identified with the i>lorv of our ilaij:, — who are expected to 
be faithful, although all other men should iirove faithless, — are yet 
found to desert their posts and their colors, when the hour of 
trial comes, under a [lersuaslon that supei-ior allegiance is due 
to some little corner of the land which happens to be marked by 
the accident of their hirth ! 

To the oHicer who has on<-e assunu-d the high responsibility 
of sustaining and (iefending the interests of this gi-cat Republic, 
the flai: of his country becomes identitied with his whole being, 
and so continues as long as life, lasts. Its honoi- is associated 
with his every thought, and it would lie insult to suggest that its 
;:loiy was not more sacred than his lit'e. When worn and wasted 
in upholding it. without one moment^ tiiltering. he resigns his 
spirit to his (Jod. and is consoled in the cold lionrofileatli lt\ thi- 
i-eflci-tion that his body will be enwi-a|.|.cd in the emblem of hi- 
conntrv's glory, which he has never either desert imI or disgraced. 

In this connection T will invite attention to the following ex- 
tract Iroiu a sj.ecch delivered by the late Hon. Joel IJ. [^.i^sett 



24 



durino- a season of extraordinary excitement in South Carolina, 
nearly thirty years ago, when the doctrine of secession Avas, per- 
haps, first agitated. Mr. Poinsett was a distinguished citizen of 
the United States, horn in South Carolina, and, in the latter years 
of his life, was entrusted with a succession of the highest offices 
within the gift of the people and the Government. TTis trusts 
were, each one and all, surrendered to the hands from which he 
received them, untainted by the breath of suspicion as to mal- 
feasance or treason. Such things were unheard of in those daijs .' 
The greatest portion of Mr. Poinsett's life Avas passed in 
traveling over every accessible part of tlic w orld. and it Avas in 
reference to this wide experience that lie said — 

" Wherever I have l)ecii, I have been proud of luring a citizen 
of this Republic, and to the remotest C(ji-ners of the earth have 
Avalked erect and secure under that banner Avhich our opponents 
Avould tear doAvn and ti-ample \mder foot. I Avas in Mexico 
Avhen the town was taken by assaidt. The house of the Ameri- 
can Ambassa(h»r*' Avas then,^ls it ought to be. the refuge of the 
distressed and persecuted. It was pointi-d out to the infuriated 
soldiery as a place filled Avith their eneu)ies. They rushed to 
the attack. My only defence Avas the tiag of my country, and 
it Avas flung out at the instant that hundreds of muskets Avere 
leveled at\is. Mr. Mason (a braver man never stood by his 
friend in the hour of danger) and myself placed ourselves 
beneath its Avaving i'olds, and the attack Avas suspended. We 
did not blench, foi" avc felt strong in the pi-otecting .arm of this 
mighty Republic. We told thein that the flag that Avaved over 
us was the banner of that nation to Avhose example they owed 
their lilierties, and to Avhose protection they Avere indebted for 
their safety. The scene changed as l)y enchantment; those 
men Avho avcj-c on the point of attacking and massacring^ the 
inhabitants cheered the flag of our couiitj'y and placed sentinels 
to protect it from outrage. Fenow-citizens, in such a moment 
as that Avould it have been any protection to me an<l mine to 
haA'e proclaimed uiyself a Carolinian? Sho)ild I have been here 
to tell you thift tale if I had huncf ovt the Palmetto and single 
star? Be assured that, to be respected abroad, avc must main- 
tain our place in the Union."' 

* Mr. roiiis;etl was hjiasclf the American Amh.'is.sadur at that time. 



25 



[B.j 

Since these words were written, it would appear that certain 
other States have followed the example of South Camlina in 
entering upon a career of revolution, disunion, and ruin. 

1 have no fliith in the long continuance of this hallucination 
over the mass of the people in any of those States. But one 
thing is certain : that the greater the number of the States which 
shall attempt to confodcrate together, just in the same proportion 
will the consequences be unpleasant and disastrous to South Car- 
olina, — her importance will Ite diminished, her glory will be 
eclipsed, and her interests despised amid the conflicting claims of 
more powerful associates. And as the causes of rivalry, inter- 
fering interests, jealousies, and bitter hatred arise, so surely will 
they rejoice to hasten back to that fold of t^nion and safety from 
which they will feel it had been better for them if they had never 
departed. On this point how emphatic and how precious is the 
warning which wc may gather from the history of the past. 

Judge Story, in drawing his picture of the condition of the 
States during the period of their former confederation and before 
their Union under our present Constitution, has said — 

" The very magnitude of the public evils almost discouraged 
every effort to relieve them. The usual consequences of such a state 
of things had been fully realized. Private as well as public credit 
was destroyed, agriculture and commerce M'ere crippled, manut'ac- 
tures could not in any strict sense be said to have had an existence 
— they were in a state of profound lethargy. The little Jiioney 
which was yet remaining in the country in specie, was subject to 
a perpetual drain to purchase the ordinary supplies from foreign 
countries. The whole industry of the country was at a stand. 
Our artisans were starving in the streets, without the means or 
the habits of regular employment ; and the disbanded officers of 
the army found themselves not only without resources, but with- 
out occupation. Under such circumstances the popular murmurs 
were not only loud, but deep, and the general distress became so 
appalling that it threatened the shipwreck of all our free institu- 
tions. In short, we seemed to have escaped from the dominion 
of the parent country only to sink into a more galling domestic 
bondage. Our very safety was felt to be mainly dependent upon 
the jealousy or foi'bearance of foreign governments."' — Judge 
Story on Ch. Justice Marshall, Mis. Wri., p. 653. 
4 



26 



Again, " Our irade was regulated, taxed, monopolized, and 
crippled, at the pleasure of the maritime powers of Europe. 
Every State managed its own concerns in its own way ; the sys- 
tems of retaliation for real or imaginary grievances were perpet- 
ually devised and enforced against neighboring States, so that 
instead of being a band of brothers in a common cause and guided 
by a common interest, the States were everywhere secret or open 
enemies to each other, and we were on the verge of a border war- 
fare of interminable irritation and interminable mischiefs." — 
Page 654. 

"1 have labored," said Governor Edmund liaudolph, " for the 
continuance of the Union, the rock of our salvation; 1 believe, as 
surely as that there is a God, that our safety, our political hap- 
piness and existence, depend on the Union of the States, and that, 
without this Union, the people of this and the other States will 
undergo the unspeakable calamities which discord, faction, turbu- 
lence, war, and bloodshed have produced in other countries. The 
American spirit ought to be mixed with the American pride, to 
see the Union magniticently triumphant." * * * *: 

"If the Union be now lost, 1 fear it will remain so forever. 
But when 1 maturely weigh the advantages of the Union, and the 
dreadful consequences of its dissolution ; when 1 see safety on my 
rio-ht and destruction on my left ; when I behold respectability 
and happiness acquired by the one course but annihilated by the 
other, 1 cannot hesitate in my decision." — Debates hi (he Virginia 
Con., III., jy. 85, f{T. 

General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, who bequeathed to 
his country that noble maxim, " Millions for defence, but not a 
cent for tribute," has ever been regarded with gratitude and re- 
spect by the American people, and at one time was an authority 
of unb()unded reverence in South Carolina. I trust they will bear 
to be reminded that in the Legislature of 1788 that great man 
declared — 



"This admirable manifesto (the Declaration of Independ- 
ence) sufficiently refutes the doctrine of the individual sov- 
ereignty and independence of the several States. In that declara- 
tion the several States are not even enumerated ; but after reciting 
in nervous language and with convincing arguments our right to 
independence, and the tyranny which compelled us to assert it, 



27 



the declaration is made in the f()lh)wing Wdvd.s, &:c., &c. The 
separate independence and individnal .s(jvereignty of the several 
States were never tliought of by the enlightened Ijand of patriots 
who framed this declaration. The several States are not ever 
mentioned by name in any part, as if it was intended to impress 
the maxim on America that our freedom and independence arose 
from our Union ; and that, without it, we never could be {\w uv 
independent. I^et us, then, consider all attempts to weaken this 
Union by maintaining that each State is separately and individ- 
ually independent as a species of political heresy which can nevei' 
benefit us, but may bring on us the most serious distresses."— 
Debates in South Carolina {Mi//er), 2^. 'ia. 



[C.J 

In a sermon recently preached in Trinity Church, New York, 
by the Rev. Francis Vinton, D. D., and since " Published by 
Permission," there is a reproduction of the old arguments by 
which the extreme High-Churchmen of the 17th century vindica- 
ted their doctrine of the " Divine right of kings," and " flung 
around the civil Government of a nation the sacredness of the 
Divine Presence and the authority of Almighty God." — Vinton. 

An insidious attempt is also made to reconcile these principles 
with the Revolution in England in 1688, by which the British 
Constitution was perfected, and to reconcile them also with the 
American Revolution of 177G. All of this may sound strangely 
enough to every student of history, but it is still more strange 
that the author should have thought it necessary to make a most 
savage assault upon the remains of that dead lion in philosophy, 
Mr. John Locke. Because, if the results of the English Revolu- 
tion were of the greatest and most lasting importance, the world 
is indebted for those results to the writings of Locke. If the De- 
claration of American Independence is worth anything, then 1 
have only to say that there is not a maxim that it rmbodies nor 
a principle it announces which may not be traci-d directly to the 
writings of Locke. 

Dr. Vinton adduces the iirst political Constitution of the Statu 



28 



of South Carolina as an instance of the " aiTogancy and weakness 
of Locke." It is perhaps the first instance in which that great 
man, who was so reniarkaltle for the admirable temper, the wise 
moderation, and true dignity with which he conducted all his con- 
troversies, was derided as " weak," or cliarged with " arrogance." 
But Ramsay, tlie Historian of South Carolina, informs us that 
the Loi'ds Proprietors framed that Constitution for the govern- 
ment of their colony " with the aid of the celebrated John Locke." 
Mr. Locke's interest and agency in the matter was to see that it 
embraced and secured those great principles of civil and religious 
liberty, for the universal diffusion of which he had consecrated 
his life ; and it was those principles that he pronounced " im- 
mortal." 

If this Constitution was a " strange medley," it was not more 
of a medley than the very mixed population for which it was pre- 
pared. If it served its purpose for a quarter of a century, it did 
full as well as the most of the Constitutions that have been 
adopted since that day for the different States in our Union. It 
was by no means, however, the " bald and haggard exhibition of 
materialism and atheism" to which we are told that the teachings 
of Locke necessarily lead, " utterly ignoring the presence of God 
in the world" (Vinton), for it " positively required the acknowl- 
edgment of a God, and of the worship that was due to liim," 
" without which no man could be a freeman or have any estate oi' 
habitation in Carolina." " But persecution for observing differ- 
ent modes and ways of worship was expressly forbidden, and 
every man was to be left full liberty of conscience, and might 
worship God in that manner which he tliought most conformable 
to the Divine will and revealed Word." — See Ramfscirfs History of 
S. C. 

Now, it is to be feared that it was this very liberty of con- 
science fur which Locke contended that has rendered his teaching 
so very distasteful to the ultra High-Churchmen in modern 
times, as well as in the days of old. 

In the sermon before me, Mr. Locke is unscrupulously de- 
nounced as a " materialist," and his teaching " negatively atheis- 
tic," and working out practical atheism in society." If we did 



29 



not know the misi'epresentatiou which the blessed Savirtiir umJ 
his doctrines of unearthly wisdom have received at the hamls of" 
an ungrateful world, — if we did not know how extraordinary are 
the contradictory senses in which the writings of the Apostle 
Paul have been received, and how sadly they have been pervei-t- 
ed to bad ends, — we might well marvel at the grossness of the false- 
hoods which men have ventured to utter as to the opinions aii<J 
character of Mr. Locke. I was aware that he ha J been called by 
turns a Roman Catholic, a Socinian, and an inlidel, and now he 
is ranked with the " fools who say in their hearts there is no God," 
while the simple truth is, that Mr. Locke was no "materialist," 
but while he exposed the insufficiency of the grounds upon which 
certain writers had rested their faith in the immateriality of the 
soul, yet he distinctly admitted that the groat truth might be 
pi'oved by reasoning to be in the " Jtij/hesl decree jjrobaUe," and 
the hiyhest 'prohahUity upon such a subject is all that ihe lunnan 
mind is capable of reaching apart from Revelation. 

So far from being an Atheist, that the simple truth is, Mr. 
Locke was one of the most sincerely devout men that ever lived. 
He was not only a person of the severest morality, which in a 
corrupt age was his " honorable singularity," but he was always 
distinguished for his deep and unaffected piety. While disliking 
!<ome thincrs in which he thought his Church was too narrow in 
her views, he yet died as he had lived, " in the communion of t lie 
Church of England." So for from " ignoring a God," it would be 
much nearer the truth to say that " God Avas in all his thoughts." 
How beautiful are the following rules for reading the Scriptures 
profitably, and which, amongst other things, were found in his 
handwriting after his death : — 

" //■ any one fi)ul any doclrimd ■parts of the Srriptvre difficult 
to he understood, tve recommend him — 1. The study of the Scrip- 
tures in humility and singleness of heart, 2. Prayer to the 
Father of lights to enlighten him. 3. "Obedience to what is al- 
ready revealed to him, remembering that Xha practice of what we 
do know is the surest way to metre knowledge," &c. — Lord king's 
Life of Locke, Vol. ii. p. 54. 

If such teaching leads to Atheism, may the good God, in His 



30 



infinite mercy, bless the earth with a little more of just sucn 
Atheism ! 

Mr. Locke's notions upon the question of " Innate Ideas " has 
no more connection with his political philosophy, than Dr. Priest- 
ley's materialism had to do with his discoveries in chemistry. 
But, in the language of Sir James Mcintosh, " in his nohle zeal for 
liberty of thought he dreaded the tendency of doctrines which 
might practically prepare mankind ' to swallow tl ait for an innate 
principle ivhich may suit Ms purpose who teacheth them.'' " 

The same delightful writer (Sir James Mcintosh), in allusion 
to the influence of Locke in elevating the intellectual habits of 
mankind, most beautifully reinarks, — " In this respect the merit of 
Locke is unrivaled. His writings have diffused, throughout 
the civilized world, the love of civil liberty, the spirit of tolera- 
tion and charity in religious differences, the disposition to reject 
whatever is obscure, fantastic, or hypothetical in speculation ; to 
reduce verbal disputes to their proper value ; to abandon prob- 
lems which admit of no solution ; to distrust whatever cannot be 
clearly expressed; to render theory the simple expression of 
facts, and to prefer those studies ivhich most directly contribute to 
human hap2}iness. If Bacon first discovered the rules by which 
knowledge is improved, Locke has most contributed to make 
mankind at large observe them. He has done most, though 
often by remedies of silent and almost insensible operation, to 
cure those mental distempers which obstructed the adoption of 
these rules, and thus led to that general diffusion of a healthful 
and vigorous understanding, which is at once the greatest of all 
improvements, and the insti-ument by which all other improve- 
ments must be accomplished. He has left to posterity the in- 
structive example of a prudent reformer, and of a philosophy 
temperate as well as liberal, which spares the feelings of the good, 
and avoids direct hostility with obstinate and formidable prejudice. 

" These benefits are very slightly counterbalanced by some 
political doctrines liable to misapplication, and by the skepti- 
cism of some of his ingenious followers, — an inconvenience to 
which every philosophical school is exposed which does not 
limit its theory to a mere exposition of experience. If Locke 



31 



mado few discoveries, Socrates made none, — yet both did mora 
for the improvement of the understanding, and not less for the 
progress of knowledge, than the authors of the most brilliant dis- 
coveries. Mr. Locke will ever be regarded as one of the great 
ornaments of the English nation, and the most distant posterity 
Avill speak of him in the language of the poet — 

" ' O, Decus Angliacse certe, O, Lux Altera gentis.' " 

—Ediiihnrfj Review, Vol. XXXV]., ^j. 243. 

"Great as are his merits in other respects, it is principally as 
the champion of civil and religious liberty that Locke is entitled 
to the reverence and gratitude of mankind." — Dkiioanry of 
Biography. 

[!).] 

We all know that the interruption of business relations be- 
tween the North and the South has, for the time, proved most 
disastrous to the merchants and manufacturers engaged in the 
southern trade. But, if the times are bad for the northern 
- creditors, they are infinitely worse for the southern debtors ; and 
I utterly reject the suggestion that the great body of the mer- 
chants at the South have favored revolutionary movements in 
order to escape from their millions of indebtedness to the mer- 
chants of the North. They do not pay only because they cannot 
pay, — they are overwhelmed in the universal ruin in which po- 
litical agitators have involved every species of property. But, 
believing, as I do, that this disturbed condition of things will be 
comparatively brief at the South, I am quite sure it will be still 
more brief at the North. 

I feel quite sure that as soon as any trade is resumed at the 
South it will flow, as it has hitherto done, towards the North, 
simply because in that channel it can be done with superior ex- 
pedition and cheapness. The nearest approach to omnipotence, 
in anything connected with the earth, is to be found in the law of 
rheapiicss. It controls all things else. Men will deal with us, 
not because they love us less, but because they love themselves 
more. It is thus that, in spite of all the denunciations of politi- 
cal empirics, mankind will continue to buy and sell just where 



32 



they find it most to their interest to do so ; and, in that matter, 
the merchant is far keener sighted than the politician. 

I have said that the period of depression will he even more 
brief at the North than at the Sonth, becanse such is the marvel- 
ous elasticity in the energies of our people that, no sooner are 
their hopes blasted in one branch of business, than they bound up 
from the most forlorn condition of ruin into new life and vigor in 
some other avenue to prosperity and wealth. 

Our New England friends may be brought to a stand-still for 
a few moments, when they are no longer permitted to manufac- 
ture nutmegs for the southern markets, but it will be only a few 
moments before they will discover something else Avhich they 
can manufacture with increased profit, and so as even to under- 
sell the spicy islands of the East in their own markets. 

We have all heard of the uncounted millions of wealth that 
the fether of rivers was always bearing upon its bosom to the 
ocean, and of the indispensable necessity of the mouth of the 
Mississippi to the prosperity of the western States; and our 
southern friends are little prepared, I fear, for the tidings of a 
revolution in the course of trade, more strange, by far, than any- 
thing of which they have yet heard. Who could have supposed 
it, fifty years ago, that the Mississippi River would have been so 
tapped and superseded by canals and railroads that its waters 
are no longer required to transport the produce of any free State 
in our Union? By fixr the larger proportion of breadstuffs and 
meats which are now received at New Orleans come from the 
slave States bordering upon the river ; and the whole amount, in 
value, of breadstuffs and provisions received at the two cities, 
respectively, are about in the proportion of one million at New 
Orleans to one hundred millions at New York. 

A still more extraordinary proof of the certainty with which 
a demand wnll secure a supply, is to be found in the fact that our 
northern railroads, for months past, have been profitably engaged 
in transporting the cotton of the South, which Avas seeking a 
market at New York and Boston. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRPS<: 

Mi. 



P, W M U W I 



* * M 



¥j: S'|- i 



J. 1. # 



^-.'fe'iri. 



.^'. |l. =Jlv. 



^ ^ *■ "l^ % "'^ 'I 



' t i *• i^. > ^ 

■i»v. ^,- !k, c«. ■ S^. . "' ■ ■ !5»., ."'/v; '" 1- 



..-,., .^ # i « i' ft i" I 



*..l^ W i 






* * 



* .*■* 



^.^^.-.^-"^•^-./^ 



I . B t 



■■ '^ -^^^ *. ^ ^~' 






"«- ., ^- ■ . Wt . V-. )s.>^ iJT ,V 



: i^ i i. 1^ ' 



P\M W 









■ *, * 1*.' J: TS> l» ■!»:- !» 

^^*. fe. ». t, I: ^^ ^' W W fe I > t S * S 



a ^« ^i ^*l M M ^^4 «i .<* ^M: *?\ 'i. *. 
4 4 A '^^ ^ ^' ^ ^ i i i ^ ^ « 'li r"- 
.t i: '■ t t ^ i t ^4. t't ■* ' 



^ A 'r 



<5 <! 1; i: «' 

< f «' ^ «. '*■ 
;^ t: X' ^ «• » 






i t 



i: i ^ 



* t f 4 «, f ft. ' i .,. ., 

V f f l; t «^ 'i^' 'If. If '■«■ ■ 
« € flf: n .« 



\4 \i ^ii '%'4 '% ^n't *. «■ ■ 

I: C 1i^ It ^^ -f ^ '^ i '^ ^: 

i i % % ^ Ik ,1 "t « t ■* ' 

% i t *, t t; ■* D 'f^ #: 

^ .5^ ii. ^; t «• i * a^ i^ ■ 






#■ ^ «; * «. 
t c I f ■# ■«" 
% ^1 «■ 3s- 'c ■ 

'ij il 4 «: 'i 'i 

t i % H' "*, 



*■ 4 



li 1^ i; ii! «i *f' t- 

i' «. ih ifi "^ "ii^ 'v 
: i g ^ -■'••' ■- ■ 



J A M , 
1 «. 13 ,< 



* i' 



«' f * ^ 



-' V i ^ ^ ^ 4) 'c'l 



^ ^ I; .*, .r .«: ^ ^C f f; f f t: t; .fi *; ^ #; , 
< li t i; € ^ 4^ *, I *. ii^ * If ■^: ^^ i? 4? % 

- 4 «e * «^ *" c 4 ^' 1^ "^«^ c 'f ■'€ 'i "'f' ■ 

* 1^; fe % tf f i \ 4 *C "»■ ■»' 't^ '-' 
i '^ '^ t; 4: < 4 # If; 4 '4 '^ 'jl , 
m. i %_ % ii !i g t ^ ^ f *.$' t 'i ■4 '4' 
' ^ ^ '^: € '€ '# '€ '4^ '^ '#^ ^^ '1^ "t '4: 'i 'i, 
■ < > Ij- 4 ^. li ^ ^^ # ■.^- 4 '.i -^^ ^ •- 
. 4 1; If/ 11 # « ^: i t '4: 1: ■•# "i^ ■'- ^ 






j %' ft i i % fl^ *iif ■) 
j^' n ^i !^ # *'"i 'ii^ 'ij . 



